Creation-day
by unavoidable-k
Summary: After discovering a calendar -marked with the dates of their creation- in the Scientist's room, Two suggests that celebrating everybody's birthdays might add a bit of excitement to the new year, much to One's annoyance... 1x2, 6x8, 5x9?
1. We have birthdays? Cool!

The vast sky was cloudy and threatening rain. Five looked up and his expression turned fearful. It would rain soon and if they didn't get back, they'd be trapped in a downpour and that was the last thing he wanted. His gaze turned back to his companions; Nine, Two, Eight and Six. The entire group had set out to loot whatever salvageable material they could find and had split into two smaller groups.

Two had made an effort to push One and Seven together in an attempt to forge a more tolerable relationship. The two silently opposed when he innocently suggested the groupings and he knew it, but he knew very well neither would openly oppose. After all, that would be childish.

Their little group had already explored a good chunk of the surrounding neighbourhood. Nine requested to revisit the First Room and, since they had already acquired the necessary materials, they had time on their hands. Not to mention, they always seemed to discover something new upon each visit. Going back once in a while wouldn't do any harm.

This time around, it seemed that Nine had discovered something that had fallen down the back of the Scientist's desk. With the help of Eight, he pulled it out from behind the large wooden structure, only to find it was similar to a pad of paper. He inspected it with curiosity, as Two approached him from behind. "Did you find something, Nine?" He asked, softly.

"This thing...One had one of these back at the sanctuary. He used it to cross out the numbers of everybody that had died." Saying it now seemed a bit strange, but there was no other way to say it. The leader had previously used such a thing to mark off the deaths and disappearances of their kind, back when Nine had awakened the machine. Two shot a smile at Nine and his innocence.

"Do you know what it is?" He asked, wiping some dust from the pages. Nine shook his head. It was obviously not meant to be used how One used it, but he wasn't quite sure how else it could be used. Each page had the same set of numbers, but he couldn't figure out what they meant. Two flipped back one of the crinkled pages.

"It's a calendar. They're used to show and record dates. I told you about months and years, didn't I?" Two explained. Nine nodded. "Yeah, although we don't really know what day, month or year it is." He almost sounded sad. "Well, they're not definite. I mean, it's easy enough to figure out the months and seasons according to the weather. Then I suppose we can take it from there." Nine's expression turned thoughtful. "What month do you think it is?"

"Well it's still incredibly cold, which means we're still in the winter months, but it's been cold for quite a while. They say that November, December, January and February are the winter months so...well I think we'd be around the beginning of January, which is the beginning of the year. That means we can apply our calendar here to the new year." He smiled widely and Nine nodded vigorously. Suddenly, something caught his attention.

"What's that? There's something marked on this month."

The pair looked down at the pad to see a red circle around the 9th of, what Nine read to be, September. Looking closer, there was something scribbled inside it and it looked like their Creators' handwriting.

'9th September- Birth of 9'

Nine stared blankly, clearly not understanding, until Two nudged him in the side with a grin. "I believe this is the day you were created. I wonder if our Creator has marked the rest of us on here." He lifted up a few pages to look for more scribbles. Nine merely watched him in silent surprise. He had...a birthday? Or something to that description.

"Here's Six's. 27th of June. And Five's which is the 3rd of May." Nine could see Five perk up at the mention of his name out of the corner of his optic. "It seems our Creator had planned a date for us to be made. How organised..." Two mumbled, staring at the scribbles. Nine almost laughed out loud; did he talk to himself like this all the time?

"We should take it back. Do you think Eight could carry it?" Two looked over his shoulder, scanning his surroundings for any sign of the hulking guard. Eight was standing a short way away, staring blankly at the wall. The pair shared a look. "I'm sure he'd be able to handle it. Ah, Five. Did you find anything?" Two smiled up at his one-eyed apprentice.

Five flexed his fingers nervously. "Uh, not really, no. There isn't much here that we can move. Did you find something?" He looked over at the calendar with interest. "We found a calendar; like the one we had back at the Sanctuary. It has our creation days' marked on it." Two made an effort to drag the calendar further out from behind the desk, with the help of Nine.

"Eight! You wouldn't mind carrying this for us, would you?" Two called. Eight was snapped from whatever daydream he was in; he stared blankly as he attempted to register the request. He nodded, once his mental functions had sorted themselves out, and trotted over to help. He pulled the calendar out with ease and dragged it towards the door as Six scampered after him.

Nine found himself wondering how Two, or anybody for that matter, could pretty much order Eight to do anything without feeling guilty. Then again, Eight felt a little bit redundant when he had nothing to do, so maybe it was better that way. Nine watched Eight and Six leave the room together; they seemed to get along so much better than before.

"Now that we have the calendar, things will be a bit easier. Sudden weather changes won't be so much of a surprise." Two smiled, but his optics were shining ever so slightly. Nine could sense he had some sort of...ulterior motive.

"Not to mention, we'll be able to celebrate birthdays!"

There it was.

There was no doubt that this was going to be a fun year.

* * *

"You found a what?"

"A calendar." Two gestured to Eight, who dropped the calendar on the floor. The twins bolted over, immediately flicking through the pages. They were mildly disappointed that there weren't many words to read, but it was interesting all the same. Seven watched with slight curiosity.

"With this, we can keep track of where we are in the year. Since we're midway through the winter season, why not begin the year today? It should be roughly around January anyway." He searched One's piercing optics with hope, and was pleased when his expression remained neutral. He waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Do whatever."

He turned to leave, before Nine snagged his cape and pulled him back. One spun around to angrily protest, when he saw Nine was pointing at the calendar. "Our creation days are marked on there." He said simply. One stared at him, blankly, before shrugging. "So?"

"So? We have- well, what I suppose would be the equivalent of a human birthday." Two looked deep in thought, before looking up at One with a grin. "Humans celebrate their birthdays. We can do the same." One gazed over at Six and the twins, who were lying on the floor, with Seven and Five crouched next to them.

He looked like he was about to protest, but instead, a sigh escaped his lips and he rolled his optics. "Do whatever you want. Just don't drag me into it." Two beamed, victoriously, and the others seemed to perk up. This sounded like a good idea, it would certainly bring a little excitement to the year.

"Why don't we have a look at whose birthday is when, then?" Two practically dragged One over with such force that One couldn't really fight back. The others sat down around the ragged calendar, as the twins swivelled it so Five could read clearly.

"Um...Well I guess it'll go in numerical order." He mumbled, as he flipped the calendar back to January. "One's is the 17th of January, which is upcoming." Cue several pairs of optics to stare at One, as he shifted to the side, clearly uncomfortable with the amount of attention. "Skip that one." He muttered.

"Two is the 22nd of February...Look at that, it's all 2's." He let out a short laugh, and flipped the page. The twins looked especially eager to know whose was whose. Lord knows they'd join forces with Two and organise most of it.

"Three and Four are the 13th of April, Mine is the 3rd of May and Six's is the 27th of June. Seven is the 18th of July, Eight is the 28th of August and Nine is the 9th of September." He said, almost with one breath. "That one is all 9's as well..." It was starting to seem that their Creator had planned this. It seemed like a terrible joke, but it was nice to know their Creator had a sense of humour.

"Well, isn't this nice? Now we can celebrate everybody's birthday." Two beamed. He said the word 'everybody' with a bit of force, and One shifted in his spot. Apparently, that meant him as well. Aside from him, everybody seemed very eager to do this.

The year ahead was going to be interesting...

* * *

The oncoming chapters is each birthday individually, as you could probably guess. Look forward to that, I suppose.


	2. 17th of January

One was suspicious. It was plain to see when Nine or Five were secretly planning something; they were hardly inconspicuous, but everything seemed too calm. Two had insisted that they should do something for his 'birthday' despite his protests, but everything seemed quiet. Nobody had even mentioned the topic and he was suspecting something was up. Something was always up.

That's how he found himself standing outside the workshop. He hadn't the slightest clue what to do or say. He was afraid he'd sound desperate. Nonetheless, he knocked on the door. All movement from behind the door stilled suddenly, and the door creaked open ever so slightly. Two peeked out from behind the door, looking up at One with surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

One didn't really know what to say. He stood there, lamely, as Two waited for a response. He swallowed, thickly, and opened his mouth.

"What are you planning?" He asked. He tried to make it sound as cocky and condescending as possible, but it sort of came out as a whisper. Two raised an eyebrow, clearly interested by this confrontation. He stepped out from behind the door and closed it behind him.

"Why? What makes you think we're planning anything?" Two responded. Normally, that would be enough to prove that they were hiding something, but he said it with such sincerity he almost backed down.

"You seemed very adamant to celebrate my...ahem, 'birthday'." He lifted his hands to make 'air quotes'. "Since it seems like I can't stop you, I decided to come and see what you'd have planned." He stated in a matter-of-factly tone. Two smiled slyly.

"So you are interested in this?" He asked, with a knowing expression. One frowned. "Not in the slightest," He deadpanned, "I just want to make sure you don't go overboard. It's embarrassing enough that you're set on celebrating." He shifted, uncomfortably.

Two smiled softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I promise, we won't go overboard. I know you like your privacy." He promised. One shook off his hand, still looking unconvinced. Two knew he couldn't say anything to convince the older stitchpunk, so he slinked back into the workshop, shooting One a quick glance, before closing the door, leaving him stood there. He stood in silence, contemplating the situation, before moping off.

Meanwhile, Two listened to make sure he was out of earshot, before turning to Nine and Five, who both held an expression like a deer in headlights. Two nodded slightly, indicating One had left, before Five let out a sigh of relief as he placed his hammer on the workbench.

"For a moment, I thought he was going to find out what we were doing." He said, stretching his arm joints and inspecting their work in progress. Nine took the time to flop down onto the cot that was pushed far into the corner of the workshop. "Are you sure he'll like this?" He asked, concern painted over his features. It seemed like an odd gift to give him.

Two sat down beside Nine, with a satisfactory smile. "I know he will. Did I not explain why?" He tilted his head, looking up at the younger stitchpunk. Both Nine and Five shook their heads simultaneously.

"Well...back when One and I were the very first of our kind, we had yet to venture out into the world. I doubt our Creator wanted to let us go so soon, and One certainly wasn't eager to run out into that wreckage." He gave a soft chuckle.

"So we spent some time in the First Room, with the Creator. He had many, many hobbies and, when he wasn't busy planning the creation of the rest of you, we'd beg him to play the piano for us."

His gaze flickered over to the pile of wooden pieces on the floor, that were now beginning to take the shape of something bigger. It was a big, flat box shape on legs at the moment, but once Two had found the remaining parts, it would become so much more.

"I don't think One would ever admit it to the rest of you, but he always wanted to play. Of course, that was hardly possible considering the size of the thing. We could sit on each of the individual keys and he'd still be able to play Beethoven. Come to think of it, I think that was a game we used to play..." He trailed slightly, before laughing.

"So this'll give him a chance to play..." Nine stood up, giving the work in progress a pat. Two nodded. "That's the general idea, yes. I asked Six if he could copy some sheet music onto a smaller piece of paper for us, so he'll have something to play." He got to his feet. "I think it's time to get back to work. We don't have long." The other two nodded silently in agreement, before getting back to work.

* * *

One awoke the next morning to the sound of shifting. His optics flickered and his mouth opened, ready to verbally lash out at the person who was disturbing him at such an ungodly hour in the morning.

Two was sat on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. One assumed he'd been sat there a while, waiting for him to awake. It was a slightly chilling thought.

When Two noticed that One was somewhat awake and looking very confused, he beamed. "Good Morning, One." He said, giving no indication of explaining just why he had been sat on the end of his bed. "Hurry up and get up already!"

One stared at him darkly. "And why should I?" He was obviously in a foul mood now because of this entire situation, but Two merely rolled his optics, before gesturing to a small calendar that had been fixated onto the stone wall. Six had been kind enough to draw smaller calendars for those who wanted one and had even included birthdays on them as well. (Despite being quiet, he found the whole idea to be very exciting.)

One stared at the calendar blankly, trying to register the information. Two watched him, waiting for the point where the penny dropped. After a few moments, his scowl had turned into a neutral expression, then a slightly surprised one, before settling down into an indifferent one. There it was.

"It's...!" Two prompted him, with a grin.

"...my birthday." One sighed, swinging his legs out over the side of his bed. Of course Two would invade his room for some stupid birthday. He figured there was no point resisting it; the old inventor was very persistent in very strange ways. Hopefully, the old fool hadn't gone overboard...

Two, himself, got to his feet and coaxed One out the room. There had better not be any shouting or surprises. He was feeling more anxious as they made their way to the main hall. He felt like he was on a walk of shame; why was this so embarrassing for him?

It was easy to mistake One as an attention hog of sorts. In actuality, he liked having authority and control over any situation, rather than attention. Sure, he was a little flamboyant in his fashion sense, but that in itself was also a matter of asserting his authority.

When they finally reached the main hall, One could see a few stitchpunks were missing. The stitchpunks that were in the hall, made an effort not to look up. One knew they were doing it on purpose, but he was grateful in a way. The only one who did pay any attention, was his hulking guard, Eight, who also had Six trailing behind him.

Eight gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Happy Birthday, boss." He muttered, and Six nodded. One could've sworn his entire body malfunctioned in that second, but he found himself being grateful towards the guard. If there was anybody he appreciated a 'Happy Birthday' from, it was Eight. The two headed off to other side of the hall, leaving the two older stitchpunks alone.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Two nudged One in the side, and One huffed. Two merely laughed in response, before adding, "Oh yes, Happy Birthday, One." One wanted to whack him in the shoulder, but instead he followed the inventor, shaking his head.

He was right, though. This wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Two had obviously forewarned the others, and they were making an effort to keep it as normal as possible. That alone could've just been his birthday present and he'd happily accept that. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Two was going to.

"Where are we going?" One asked, as Two led them further towards the back of the hall, behind the mountain of books. "It was impossible for Five, Nine and I to move your present to your room; that would be a job for Eight, later, so we decided to hide it back here." Two stopped, suddenly, before turning around to face One.

"Here, why don't you go and see. I'll be over with the others in the meantime." And with that, he trundled off. One watched him leave, before turning his attention to the looming shadow behind the books. He peered out behind the books to find...

He could've sworn he felt something inside his body drop like a rock.

A piano?

He crept out from behind the books and approached the small piano with caution. There was no doubt that this was handmade, most likely by Two, Nine and Five. Damnit, he told Two not to go overboard with this! But he couldn't help but gaze wistfully at the piano. It was incredibly well crafted, he'd give him that.

He sat down, seeing as the piano came with it's own stool, before lifting the lid. Beneath the lid was a stack of paper with a small card on top. The stack of paper was sheet music to some classic tunes, courtesy of Six, he could tell. He ripped open the card and read the inside.

It merely had 'Happy Birthday' scribbled inside, but around it were the signatures of the others. It wasn't anything fancy or over the top, but it was...nice. He had a sudden thought of the others using Six's finger to write their number and he almost chuckled out loud. He set down the paper, and turned his attention back to the piano.

The keys were solid white and shining in the dim light of the hall. It looked so enticing, but if he were to play any notes, he'd surely draw the attention of the others. The last thing he wanted were the others crowding around him.

Whatever. It was his birthday. He could have this.

His fingers gingerly grazed over the keys, before pressing down firmly, releasing a solid note. It sounded lovely. It took him back to his days in the Scientist's workshop. That old piano that stood in the corner, covered in dust. How he longed to play it himself, and now, he had that opportunity.

Before he knew it, his fingers were dancing over the keys, tapping out a random tune. He didn't realised how wrapped up he'd become in the instrument, until Two cleared his throat in an attention-seeking manner. His head snapped up to see the inventor standing a little ways away from him. One put his head in his hands, waiting for the playful jab that Two had ready.

"Do you like it?"

One looked up suddenly. Two was smiling at him gently. He limped over, and took a seat beside the leader, inspecting his latest work.

"Do you like it?"

"..."

"I like it very much. Thank you." He mumbled. Two couldn't stop the grin spreading across his face. He leant to the side and rested his head on One's shoulder. "I'm glad you like it. I thought very hard about it." One visibly stiffened.

"You didn't have to do this." He muttered. Two tutted, and smiled shyly. "I thought you'd appreciate it." He drew back, before pressing a small kiss to the leader's cheek. One choked slightly, and Two stood up to leave.

"The twins have invented a new game to play, so I'm going to join them. Are...you coming?" He held out his hand. One stared at his hand cautiously, before sighing defeatedly and taking it.

"I'll watch, if it's all the same with you."

"Of course."

* * *

I couldn't help myself, the 1x2 feelings were too strong, I'm sorry.


	3. 22nd of February

It wasn't until his own birthday rolled around, did he realise what One felt. He couldn't blame him, it was rather embarrassing to be given lots of things on one day of the year, but it was a nice feeling nonetheless. Part of him wanted to tell the others not to make a big fuss, but that would be futile and slightly hypocritical of him. The last thing he wanted for his birthday was an 'I told you so' from One.

So he kept quiet about the whole situation. After a while, he began to notice Nine and Five's absence. Of course they were planning something. Why wouldn't they be? He decided to keep away from the workshop for the time being.

It was proving to be tremendously difficult. What else was he supposed to do during the day? Sure, he'd spent a whole lot more time with One, watching him play the piano, (One would never admit he liked it as much as he did) but he still felt unproductive. He had to be doing something.

The hall was practically empty, save for the twins scurrying between piles of books. Six wasn't hunched over in his corner like normal, which was odd. Where on earth was he?

He stopped by the corner, just to take a look at what Six had been working on. It was evident that the young artist had been working on something that required a lot of concentration. He'd fallen asleep here three nights in a row already and he was beginning to worry Two.

Then again, he'd do the exact same at his own workbench, much to the annoyance of One.

He missed the workshop. Thinking about it, maybe Nine and Five wouldn't be there; after all, Two spent so much time in the workshop, it wouldn't exactly be a secret if they were working on something in there.

He couldn't take it. He was bored and he had to do something.

With that thought fresh in his mind, he stumbled over to the bucket lift, similar to the one in the cathedral.

Their new sanctuary, now in the library, wasn't too much different from the cathedral. The main hall was on the bottom floor, filled with piles and piles of books, as well as the twins library system. He had to admit, it was an impressive structure.

They had rebuilt a watchtower on the roof and on the storey below, was where the new workshop was situated. It was proving difficult to get from the bottom floor, to the top via bucket lift, especially in the case of Two's lack physical strength. It was a good thing his room wasn't situated far from the workshop. Technically, his room was his workshop, but One would beg to differ.

It'd taken ten minutes for him to get all the way up, which was a record for him. He'd installed a kind of lock on the bucket lift, so anybody could lock the bucket lift in place (basically, it was so he could take a break when he got tired, but he'd never admit such a thing).

When he arrived at the workshop, he was surprised to find two things. The first, was the stacks of wood and stone littered around the door. What on earth were they doing in there to require this much material? The second, was the presence of Eight. He was standing by the door, doing what he did best, by the looks of it.

Two casually approached the guard in a friendly manner. "Eight! What are you doing here?" He asked. Eight pulled a face, but he didn't say anything. "Let me guess, you're guarding the door." Two smiled, and Eight nodded. "They said not to let anybody in." Two could tell in this case, 'anybody' meant him especially.

"What's with all the clutter? If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were ripping my workshop apart." He chuckled. Eight's slightly guilty expression was a definite cause for concern. The two stayed silent for several minutes.

"They'd better not be." Two warned, looking up at the giant of a guard with a rather intense expression. Eight stared right back at him, but kept his mouth closed. This was...worrying, to say the least. Eight closed his optics; he wasn't going to say a word. He was just going to guard the door. That's all.

He opened his optics and almost flinched. Two didn't exactly look pleased by all of this. He didn't know how to react to being stared down by the smaller man, especially in a way that was uncharacteristically intimidating of him. It was a short while until Two opened his mouth again.

"Please tell me they aren't taking my workshop apart."

If there was one thing Two knew about Eight, apart from his formidable strength, was his inability to lie. It was rather curious for a guy like him, but for some strange reason, it was impossible for him to lie, at least not convincingly anyway. If you asked him a question, there was a 90% chance he'd tell the truth. (The remaining 10% was total and utter silence.)

Eight shifted uncomfortably in his spot, but remained strong. "They're not...really doing anything bad. I promise." He added. Two sighed. It seemed as if that was the best he was going to get. Not to mention, Eight was somewhat trustworthy so his word was good enough.

Two reluctantly backed away and headed in the direction of the bucket lift. He couldn't help but worry at this point; thoughts were racing through his head a thousand miles a minute. Now he rarely threatened physical violence but death was to come if anybody made a mess of his workshop. He got into the bucket lift and gently lowered it to the floor. He might as well visit One again.

* * *

One snorted when Two told him about the workshop and Eight. "Maybe now you'd feel compelled to sleep in your actual bedroom." He jabbed, and Two huffed. "I know you hold some sort of odd resentment towards my workshop..." One opened his mouth to protest, but Two didn't let him, "...but I really don't appreciate people messing it up without saying a word." One hadn't seen him this irked for a while and it was amusing to watch.

"It means that much to you?"

"Of course it does."

"Well why don't you talk to-"

One was cut off by a clatter coming from the corner of the room. They looked up to see Six, hopping around like a lunatic wearing a mildly displeased expression. It seemed as if he'd knocked an inkwell over and had drenched his feet in the mess. He frantically clawed at some stray papers on the floor in an attempt to rescue them from the black liquid. After shuffling through a few pages, he'd apparently found the paper he was looking for.

One cleared his throat to get Six's attention; the striped stitchpunk looked up with surprise. One looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response. Six looked between One and the ink soaked floor, and then at his feet and the pile of soggy paper.

"That...wasn't me."

Two almost laughed out loud, but stifled it behind his hand. One sighed deeply. "Of course it wasn't. Can't you be more careful? After all, you're the one who's going to be cleaning that up." He gestured to the ink puddle on the floor. Six looked back down at the puddle; his shoulders sagged and he didn't look all too happy.

"What were you looking for?" Two asked, curiously. Six's hand tightened around the piece of paper he was holding as he subtly put it behind his back.

"Just...a drawing." He said, airily. Six generally had an odd speech pattern, but any idiot could see he was hiding something. Two raised an eyebrow as a smile stretched across his face. "Just a drawing?"

Six seemed to gulp nervously, before nodding. "Yep. Just a drawing. Uh...Five wanted it." He said, inching away from the expanding ink puddle, before breaking out into a mad dash toward the bucket lift. The two older stitchpunks merely watched him with mutual confusion.

"That wasn't suspicious in the slightest. What on earth has he got to hide?" One sat back, crossing his arms. Two shrugged. "Maybe it's a special drawing?" One scoffed. "Maybe it's something blatantly inappropriate." He commented. Two choked slightly.

"Come now, this is Six we're talking about. He wouldn't draw something inappropriate."

"Six wouldn't know what inappropriate was if it hit him in the face."

The two remained silent for several moments before chuckling. "I suppose you have a point there. He reminds me of Five in that aspect." Two commented. One pulled a face. "Well...Five's innocent in the way that he wouldn't bring up an inappropriate topic, and he'd steer clear of anything of the sort, or at least, I assume he does. Six is innocent in the way that he doesn't have a clue what's considered inappropriate." Two listened intently, before nodding. "I suppose so. It's quite endearing in a way, isn't it?"

* * *

Two found himself waking up earlier than normal, having not been burning the midnight oil the night before. Now that he didn't spend the entire night and early morning working, his sleeping patterns had a chance to readjust themselves, but he found himself with nothing to do, just like before.

It was nice to spend a night with One; they certainly had some catching up to do after the defeat of the machine, not to mention, One seemed a little happier in recent days as well. Unfortunately, One preferred a lie in, which left Two with nothing to do at 6:00AM.

This morning, however, he was surprised to see One fully awake at 7:00AM, which may have been a record for the leader. "What are you doing up so early?" Two asked, cheerily. "Come with me." He simply said.

Two was no doubt confused, but followed him anyway. The two boarded the bucket lift and began to crank the handle in a joint effort. "It's unlike you to be up so early." Two commented, and One sighed. "Does that really matter? I got up early for you, if you hadn't noticed." He huffed, obviously not in the best of moods.

Two shot him a questioning look, and opened his mouth to ask, but was interrupted when the bucket lift arrived noisily at it's destination. One swung the small hatch opened, holding his arm out indicating that Two could go first.

"I still don't get why you got up early for me." Two mumbled, as One hopped out from the lift. It was nice, considering getting up early was a big deal for One. When he didn't receive a response, he turned to look at One, who was staring blankly at him.

"You don't know? I got up to wake you up." He said, as if he was prompting Two. Two merely shrugged in confusion and One looked genuinely surprised. "I still don't get why you're bringing me up here? Unless...you had something planned?" He said, slyly.

One's surprised expression was replaced by an incredibly fierce blush. "D-Don't be an idiot." He growled, clearly flustered. Two laughed, "You got my hopes up for a moment." He joked. One looked thoughtful for a moment, before taking the inventor by the arm and leading him down the corridor. "If you really wanted," He mumbled, "...I'm sure I can arrange something later."

Now it was Two's turn to blush profusely. He fiddled with the ties on his vest awkwardly, but he still had a smile on his face. "I wouldn't mind that at all. But it still doesn't explain why you're dragging me up here." He said. One stopped.

"Do you really not remember what today is?" He asked, almost annoyed at this point. Two had to admit, although he was capable of waking up early, his brain didn't really start working until noon, so he was a little bit dopey at the moment.

"I must admit, I'm a little tired this morning." Two murmured, slightly embarrassed. One sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You moron, it's your birthday today."

It almost looked like Two was having a mental malfunction. Had he really forgotten so easily? "Honestly, you were the one who thought of this, and now you forget?" One muttered, but Two smiled gently. "I guess I was having so much fun spending time with you, I forgot."

"..."

"..."

"S-Stop saying stupid things!"

* * *

One had forcibly dragged Two towards the direction of the workshop, in a hurry to get this over with. Two had a feeling that One's previous offer had now been retracted, but it was worth it to see the look on his face. Once they arrived at the workshop, One allowed Two to open the door. His worries of his workshop being utterly destroyed at the hands of his two apprentices had disappeared completely now and he found himself becoming slightly anxious.

He pushed open the door and his mouth fell open slightly.

Nine and Five were stood in the centre of the room, with Six sat between them and Eight sat on the bench. They all looked up upon Two's arrival, before grinning.

"Happy Birthday, Two!"

Two hadn't a clue what to say. The entire workshop's appearance had changed dramatically. Apparently they had been tearing the place apart, but only so they could redesign the entire place.

The workbench had been cleaned of all stains and had been polished, there was now a cupboard-like alcove on the right wall, which held all kinds of trinkets. There were rows of pegs beside that, holding things like coils of wire and ribbons. The entire place was a lot cleaner and generally more organised with some more storage features and expansions, which explained the piles of material in the corridor.

"Oh my, this place is...it's marvellous! You did all this?" He took Five's hand in his own, bearing a wide grin. Five looked incredibly embarrassed but if his mentor was happy, then he was happy. "With the help of these guys too. Six drew most of the plans for the place..." Six waved shyly and Two noted that his left leg was still covered in dried ink.

"This is wonderful. Thank you all so much!" He said, beaming. One merely huffed, turning away with his arms crossed. "Wonderful. Now he'll never sleep in his own bed again." He complained. The others laughed and Two rolled his optics. Five was the only one to look somewhat concerned by this.

"Don't mind him," Two gave him a nudge, "He's just jealous because he wants me to sleep with him." Five slapped a hand over his mouth and One looked absolutely appalled. Six burst out into a rather uncontrollable burst of laughter and almost keeled over.

"W-Why would you go and say something like that!" One practically shrieked in horror. Two grinned widely. "Well it's true..." He retorted, cheekily. "It's not true! You're just being an obnoxious little-"

"Oh dear, and I was going to sleep with you tonight."

"You _what?!_ "

"Do you think we should get out of here?" Nine deadpanned. Five nodded, wringing his hands nervously. Eight picked up a still-giggling Six and herded everyone out. "Come on, everyone out. Let 'em have their lovers' quarrel."

 _"We aren't lovers!"_

* * *

I am in no way sorry for this blatant, shameless and completely irredeemable 1x2 fluff. You're all motherfucking welcome.


	4. 13th of April

It was no surprise that the twins would be absolutely ecstatic for their birthday. Nobody was sure if embarrassment was something they were capable of feeling and, although they were naturally shy people, this all seemed so exciting for them.

They decided it would be best to go about their usual business, instead of pestering the others, so the few days leading up to their birthday were filled with scrapbooking, reading and other things. It wasn't a surprise to them when Seven announced she'd be leaving for a few days, along with Nine and Five. The twins grinned knowingly to one another, but decided to act a bit naive in front of the others.

They merely nodded, and gave Seven a bone-crushing hug before she set off, before returning to their own business. As the trio left, the others began to go their own ways as well. One decided to head to his room, with Two following beside him. Three shot Four a grimace, to which Four laughed silently. That part of the library was definitely out of bounds now.

Eight had disappeared as well and the twins assumed that Six had scampered after him, but no. Instead, he was lingering beside them, looking like he was struggling to articulate. The pair waited patiently for him to string his words together.

"Do you have any books about art?" He asked, finally. The twins smiled simultaneously. They expected he'd ask sooner or later, so they had stacked all their art related books in one corner for him. They led him over to the far corner and gestured to the teetering stack of books before them. Six looked somewhat satisfied, but he still looked rather unsure. Was he looking for something specific?

Three had apparently thought the same thing, because when Four turned to face her, she was brandishing a piece of paper. Six made a noise of surprise when Three took his index finger to scribble a sentence on the paper. Poor Six wasn't entirely adept when it came to social matters. Body language was totally foreign to him and he wasn't great at, what people call, putting two and two together, which meant you generally had to spell things out for him to understand.

(Similarly, it was just as difficult to understand Six a good portion of the time unless he spelt out just what he was trying to say.)

\- Are you looking for something specific?-

Six stared at the paper for longer than necessary, before opening his mouth.

"I...don't know. I'm looking for something, and it's- Well it's for something and I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know when I see it."

The twins just stared at him. Three resisted the urge to facepalm massively, so she forced a smile and kind of...shrugged. Four hadn't a clue either, so they were stuck in some sort of stalemate. Neither had a clue just what Six had said, and they knew even if he'd repeated himself, they still wouldn't understand. Nonetheless, they offered to help him look through the collection of books.

Six seemed amazed by how broad the topic of art really was. There were books on things from clay to mask making and typography. Six had temporarily forgotten that he was looking for something until the twins reminded him.

When Six tried to explain again, he tried to make gestures to emphasise his point, but that only made the twins more confused. How Six's brain worked was a complete mystery; it was almost fascinating. He seemed to be muttering to himself as he sifted through the books, putting them into separate piles that only made sense to him.

It wasn't too long before Six began reading further into one of the books. His face showed interest and satisfaction; he nodded to himself. It appeared as if he'd found what he was looking for. The twins approached him from either side and peered over his shoulder.

"I found it. This will work." He said, simply. He flipped over the cover to show the twins. It was a paperback book titled 'The Art of Origami'. The twins shot questioning looks at each other; why did he need a book about paper folding? Maybe he was just broadening his horizons. It seemed like a plausible explanation.

Six picked up the book with ease and hoisted it up onto his back, before scampering off; probably to join Eight somewhere. He shouted a 'thank you' over his shoulder, leaving the twins sat amongst a pile of books. The twins looked down at the separate piles and, no matter how they looked at it, there was no correlation between any of them. What was he thinking?

As much as they loved things to be organised, they decided to leave those piles, in case Six came back. Even though thousands of curious questions filled their minds about the origami book, they decided to shrug it off for now.

* * *

"Do you even know what we're looking for?"

Five was trailing behind Seven and Nine, timidly. Sure, he knew that they had set out to look for a present for the twins, but what were they even looking for? Seven had previously said as much as the twins would appreciate books, she wanted to get them something a bit more special.

"I don't know, to be honest, but I'm sure we'll find something." Seven muttered, as she scanned the area. They had already visited several shops and found absolutely nothing that could be a suitable gift. He was beginning to give up hope. As much as he loved the twins, he wasn't sure if they'd be able to find anything for them aside from books.

He crept up to Seven and put his hand on her shoulder. "Seven, why don't we have a look for some books anyway? If we find something special, then we find something. If not, we still have something to give them, right?" He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Seven adored the twins like they were her own children, so naturally she wanted the best for them. Not being able to do that was obviously upsetting for her.

"I guess..." She sighed. "I know there's a bookshop further to the north. I've never taken them there, so we might find something they don't have." She said, smiling weakly. Nine took the chance to sidle up beside her. "What about if you took them there for a trip as a birthday present? I'm sure they'd love it." He suggested, and Five nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that might work. But then they'd want to take it all back to the library." She laughed. "Or at the very most, they'd want to relocate there." The trio laughed together and Seven felt a little more at ease. Even if she couldn't give them something special, it was the thought that counted right?

* * *

Meanwhile, the twins were discussing the entire arrangement amongst themselves, chattering and flickering wildly.

*What do you think they'll do?*

*They'll get us a present like One and Two, most likely.*

*Books?*

*Naturally.*

They laughed silently.

* * *

The bookshop was huge; Five and Nine stared in awe of this giant building. How had Seven never thought to bring the twins here? They'd love it for sure! Although, it was quite a trek away but for the twins, it would be totally worth it.

They all hopped through a gaping hole in the glass door and began to search the place for something to take back. They could probably carry three books between them, four if Five was feeling particularly strong that day. They'd have to choose wisely, it seemed.

Seven froze suddenly, and indicated for the two boys to keep quiet. 'What is it?' Nine mouthed in confusion. She crept a little further and Nine could see there was a set of stairs that led downwards, instead of upwards. Was there something down there? He couldn't tell.

She gestured for Five to join her. "Can you see anything down there?" She whispered, and Five raised his crossbow. He'd installed a kind of scope onto the top, which improved his range and his aim dramatically. He looked through the scope and began scanning the area downstairs thoroughly. There weren't any visibly large beasts, which was always a good sign, but it didn't mean they were totally safe.

He was about to shake his head, before he stopped short. "I think I see something." He mumbled, trying to get a closer look. Seven perked up and brandished her spear, as Nine clutched his lightstaff instinctively. "What is it?"

"I...can't really tell. I can see something moving down there but it's small. I think it's a machine." He said, he looked up at Seven. "It's not doing anything; we're not in immediate danger. Should I shoot it anyway?" He asked. Seven contemplated this for a second, before nodded. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

He nodded and hesitantly took aim. He didn't like senseless violence but she had a point. He peered down the scope with his optic and took aim but right as his finger pulled down on the trigger, the beast sidestepped. He gasped slightly, which pushed his aim off ever so slightly. The harpoon shot through a hefty piece of rubble with surprising force, alarming the small beast. Five backed away, trembling.

The beast skittered across the floor and bolted in the opposite direction, seemingly out of sight. Seven was about to head down there herself, but Nine pulled her back. "There's no point. If it comes back again, then we'll deal with it. For now, let's just limit our search to this floor, okay?"

Seven back away hesitantly, before following the two males. Five was visibly distressed by his mistake, as Nine patted his shoulder. "Don't worry so much." He murmured, and Five nodded silently.

They split up and began searching the bookstore thoroughly. Nine headed off to the fiction section, Seven to the non-fiction section and Five wandered off to the children's section. Even though the twins weren't exactly children (despite their more than childish behaviour) he'd thought they'd appreciate a sweet storybook.

Even though Nine shouted that he'd found something, he didn't bother to go over. He was sure they could do without him for a while. It was strange, he'd known the twins for a very long time but he had no idea what kind of a book they'd like. He'd found a fairytale book which seemed to be the best option so far. They were fond of classic stories and this seemed perfect.

There was another book he'd found, which was a collection of stories and poems by a famous author. He didn't know who they were, but he was sure the twins would know. Which one would he choose? They were both hefty books so bringing them both back wasn't an option.

He settled for the collection of stories and poems, as he placed the fairytale book back on the shelf. As he was about to leave, heavy book in tow, he spotted a small book that had fallen down the side of the shelf. It was small, square and rather thin. Definitely a child's book. He fished it out, out of mere curiosity, and found himself staring at what could be the most perfect gift for the twins.

"You guys! I found something!" He yelled, before trotting over to meet them as fast as he could. He almost tripped over as he ran and Nine and Seven looked up at him with confusion. When he stopped, he dropped the book onto the floor and brandished the smaller book he had found.

"I found this book for the twins but when I was coming back, I found this. It's perfect!" He held up the book and was overjoyed when Seven's optics lit up. She grinned widely and took the book. "This is perfect!" She laughed.

* * *

The twins were beginning to miss Seven now. They'd spent the day wandering all over the place. Six had locked himself in his room with Eight, for reasons the twins didn't really want to know. They'd messed around with One's piano until he'd caught them and yelled at them. They'd spent time playing chess with Two, but they couldn't deny they were getting lonely without Seven.

That's why when they heard the sounds of the trio's arrival, they bolted towards the door, only to be dragged back by Eight. They looked up at him, both pouting. "Sorry," He apologised, but didn't really seem all that sorry, "I gotta keep you back here for now. Seven'll come see you later, yeah?"

They were visibly disgruntled by this, as they stormed back off into the hall. Eight did feel sorry for them, but it was worth it. They knew that Seven had brought them back something for their birthday, so obviously she didn't want them finding out until tomorrow, but they had missed her and frankly, her return was as good as any present right now.

They sulked behind a hefty stack of books towards the far end of the hall. It's what they did when they weren't in the mood to see anybody; it was like their own little hidey spot.

They were determined to be miserable the rest of the day now. They'd waited so long for Seven to come back and they wouldn't even get to see her. Deep down, they knew they were overreacting, but it was completely necessary in this case. They were miserable and they'd be purposely sulky for the rest of the day.

That was the last thought in their head when Seven poked her head over the stack of books with a big smile. "Missed me, you two?" She asked, and the twins gaped. It took them half a second before they tackled her with all of their strength which, when combined, was surprisingly overwhelming.

She laughed loudly as they collapsed to the floor, hugging her tightly. She pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads and ruffled their hoods. "I missed you too guys. What did you do while I was gone?"

They proceeded to show her all of the scrapbooking they'd done in the meantime. Even though she had a hard time getting her head around the more informative pieces, she was proud of them nonetheless. "You've been busy then." She chuckled as she took one twin under each arm. "But you have to do me a favour tonight."

They perked up, listening to her intently. "You two, have to go to bed a little bit early tonight. That means no staying up until stupid o' clock in the morning, you hear?" She chided them. They didn't look exactly pleased by this demand. She smiled softly.

"It's your birthday tomorrow, don't forget. The sooner you go to sleep, the quicker it'll come. We can do whatever you like, alright? I'm just gonna be a little busy tonight." Their faces fell in a synchronised pout, but they understood. It was fair enough, after all, but Seven did feel a little bad. She'd just gotten back and she was already herding them to bed, but she knew it'd be worth it in the morning.

Even though they had gone to bed earlier that night, they were having troubles sleeping. Despite being annoyed about having to go to bed, that was all replaced with excitement for the day to come.

* * *

*I'm not sure I can sleep.* Three flickered, and Four laughed silently.

*Do you want me to knock you out?*

*That would hurt!*

*I'm not sure you'd feel it...*

*What about you? You're having just as much trouble as I am.*

*We could do that thing they did in Eight's fighting book*

*A double knockout?*

*Yeah!*

They ended up punching each other in the face.

It didn't work.

* * *

When Three finally awoke, it took her three seconds to come to her senses. She hurriedly shook her twin awake and flickered and chattered excitedly. They got out of bed and crept towards the door, peering down the corridor. Four was surprised when Three pulled her attention to the floor.

Right on the floor, outside their room, was a small paper animal. Upon closer inspection, it was a rabbit. They gingerly picked up the small paper animal and marvelled at how well made it was. It was adorable! So this was what Six had been making the day before. Looking down the corridor, they could see a trail of paper animals of different shapes and sizes.

By the time they reached the end of the corridor, right outside Seven's room, they had collected a paper rabbit, a fox, a snake, a cat, a beetle, a spider and a bat. Three was cradling them all in her arms, careful not to squish or fold them, while Four carefully pushed the door open.

"Happy Birthday."

Seven, Five, Six, Two and Nine were standing around a hefty stack of something wrapped in paper, all with wide smiles. The twins beamed and scampered towards them. It was impossible for Three to hug Seven holding all the animals so she had to put them down in the corner where they wouldn't be stepped on, before hurtling towards her and almost knocking her off her feet.

"I told you it would be worth it. C'mon, open your presents."

Their attention was turned to what was obviously a stack of books wrapped in wrapping paper. On top of the stack was another origami figure, but it was a lot more intricate than the animals.

It was a paper figure of the two of them, with optics, numbers and stripes drawn on. Neither of them wanted to touch it for fear of breaking it, but they gingerly lifted it off and set it down with the animals, before thanking Six. Six shifted his feet, smiling shyly. He had scraps of paper stuck to his fabric and the twins had to stifle their laughter. They didn't think he was aware of the paper stuck to his back, but they had to wonder just what was he doing to get paper stuck on his back of all places? (Unless Eight had got bored and began sticking things to the smaller stitchpunk, which was a plausible explanation.)

They teared the paper off together and pulled the books out. There was a collection of stories and poems, a fictional story about a girl and a cat, and a book about...tanks?

They shot Nine a questioning look and he shrugged lamely. "You didn't have anything about tanks in your collection." He said, as if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. The twins rolled their optics, but accepted the gifts graciously, vowing the read them as soon as possible.

"There's one more." Seven piped up, before brandishing a small square of wrapping paper. It looked like a book, but it was much smaller and thinner than the others. The twins looked at each other, very curious as to what this might be. When they ripped off the wrapping paper, they stopped short and stared at the book.

A fond grin broke out on their faces. If they were capable of crying, they probably wouldn't teared up on the spot. Instead, they held the book close and silently thanked Seven.

The book was titled, 'Little Miss Twins', by Roger Hargreaves.

It would no doubt be the best book in their collection.

* * *

mmm nostalgia. also, nine is awful at choosing presents.

(I take requests by the way, so feel free to drop me a message. If you want to talk about 9, drop me a message as well :D)


	5. 3rd May

Five was proving to be...difficult in terms of birthday presents.

He had vague interests and there weren't many things he strongly liked or disliked, which made it stupidly hard for Nine and Two to think of ideas for a present.

"I've known him for a very long time but I can honestly say I have no earthly idea what to get him." Two sighed, before slumping over his workbench. "He's always helped me with my inventions but I can't say that it's his favourite thing in the world. I don't think he's had a chance to broaden his horizons, and he wasn't exactly born with any...talents, like Eight or Six."

As harsh as that may have sounded, he had a point. Eight was built like a tank and was naturally strong in combat; Six was artistically gifted and with his unusual fingers, that was a given. The twins were hyper-intelligent, Seven was athletically gifted, Two was a practically a genius in more than just mechanics and One...

...well, One was a leader. Not much else could be said about it.

Nine found himself relating to Five in that aspect. He was technically the 'saviour' of the group, but he had no special talents. He was generic as they come, and there was no way curiosity was considered a talent. The only thing that differentiated Five and Nine was Five's lack of an optic, and that was pretty much his gimmick. The 'one-eyed' one.

And yes, Five was an excellent marksman and very capable with ranged weapons, but that was down to standard practice (and the loss of an eye). He wasn't born with incredible aim and heightened reflexes. He'd developed them over his life. Between his missing optic and his crossbow skills, that was what made up him as a person.

Five had one redeemable skill that placed him above Nine, and that was his 'healer' status. He knew the in's and out's of the stitchpunk anatomy, but he couldn't deny that he'd been taught a great deal of it by Two. Nonetheless, that made him the groups designated healer and he had a place in the hierarchy.

Nine had no place. He had no title. He wasn't fit for much besides getting into trouble.

But there was no point lamenting that now. He had to find a present for his friend and it had to be good. He knew Five would appreciate anything given to him, but he didn't want to just give him 'anything' and he was sure Two felt the same. Two was eternally grateful for Five's help over the years in a way that he couldn't express with words.

"How are we going to do this?" Two asked nobody in particular. Nine hoisted himself up onto the workbench and rested his head on his hands. "I...don't know. We could try and look out in the emptiness but there's no guarantee we'd find anything." He mumbled.

"Do you think it's worth a shot?"

"It's better than nothing. I doubt we can find anything here..."

"Then we'll go tomorrow."

* * *

So Two and Nine set off into the emptiness the following day, and Six decided to tag along as well. (Two joked that Six's accompaniment could be their lucky charm.)

"Perhaps we could fashion him a new crossbow. Or something for his room?" Two muttered to himself. Nine was feeling progressively more hopeless as time went on and he wasn't sure if they would find anything. "Does he have anything that holds great sentiment for him?"

"I don't really think so..." Two replied, quietly. "The only thing I can think of that he has any kind of attachment towards is the telescope in the watchtower." Nine thought about that for a second.

"He has stronger attachment to people than objects. He's really attached to you, after all." Nine commented with a small smile. Two flushed slightly at this and chuckled uneasily. "I know he does. He's shy, so he couldn't exactly approach the others, especially not One or Eight. I became his first friend, so I suppose we have a strong bond. But don't forget, he has a strong attachment to you as well."

Now it was Nine's turn to flush.

"I'd say you were the one to boost his confidence. You dragged him out of his comfort zone and forced him to adjust and I'd say that helped develop himself as a person. He respects you for that, but I can't help but feel he has a somewhat stronger bond with you than I." Two commented. Nine looked up in surprise.

"That can't be right. He talked about you all the time when the Cat Beast took you. He really looks up to you." Nine told him. Two smiled and shook his head. "You may be right, but that makes me his role model, I suppose. I think after I died, he replaced me with you as his role model, but now things are back to normal, I think I've taken the spot once again." Nine watched him blankly. Where was he going with this?

"What I'm trying to say is...Well, I'm like his teacher more than anything. Maybe a father figure, but I'm like that towards most people," He shot him a small smile, "But you're more like a brother. I'm sure I've told you before, if Five still had his eye, you'd almost be twins, not to mention you're somewhat alike and he trusts you like nobody else." Nine felt flattered by this comment. He hoped that Five trusted him, especially since he led him into danger more times than he could remember and was probably indirectly the cause of his untimely death. Nine shuddered to think about that.

The two stayed silent for a while and it wasn't until ten minutes later that Two sensed that their party felt a little bit...empty.

"Does something feel off to you, Nine?" Two asked, quietly. Nine stared at him, silently. "It feels a bit..." He turned around to face Nine and his optics widened a fraction.

"...artistically stunted."

* * *

"Six!"

"Six!"

"How did we manage to lose him? He was right behind us!" Two said, frantically. Nine scanned the area, looking for any sign of the small artists whereabouts. He'd half expected Six to leave a trail of ink in his wake but alas, that was wishful thinking.

"Maybe he found something? He can't of gone far, either way. We haven't even reach the old cathedral site, yet." Nine commented. Two nodded, but his face looked grave. "I say we retrace our steps."

So the two headed back in the direction of the library, desperately crying out Six's name in a hope to get a response. It was starting to get dark now and they were getting progressively more worried as time went on. "What if he's hurt himself? If he's been attacked by a beast, there's no way he could effectively defend himself..." Two was muttering to himself in a fashion that was highly reminiscent of Six. When Nine thought about it, the old inventor wasn't exactly the poster child for sanity.

"We'll find him, don't worry. He's smart, he'll know to go back to the library." Nine found himself doubting his own words, but he had to stay strong. He was about to make another reassuring remark when the figure of Six suddenly bolted out from a pile of garbage. He stopped short in the middle of the path, looking rather breathless, before spying the other two in front of him.

"Hi!" He waved, eagerly, apparently oblivious to the panic he had caused.

Two said nothing, but he sighed deeply in relief. If he hadn't been so worked up, he might've gotten a little mad at Six for wandering off, but right now he was just glad he was okay. "Where have you been?" Two asked, with concern.

Six seemed completely unfazed to their previously panicked expression, as he fiddled around with his key. "Bomb site." He said simply. The two stitchpunks looked at him with raised eyebrows. When he realised he wasn't getting his explanation across, he sighed, and instead, took Two and Nine by the arm and forcibly dragged them towards the pile of trash. Nine broke away from his grip, "Why don't we just walk around it." He suggested. Two smiled weakly in agreement and Six shrugged. "Okay."

Even when Six had led them to the place, Nine still hadn't a clue what this place was. It was a long road, with houses either side. The road was dotted with large potholes and bullet holes. It seemed like a monster had rampaged down here.

This place seemed to have a more significant effect on Two, however, who stared out at the desolate road with clear optics. It didn't seem like a single thought was running through his mind. Nine placed a hand on Two's shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked, worriedly.

"This was when those awful machines dropped those gas bombs. It killed everything within a fifty mile radius almost immediately." He spoke quietly and full of remorse. Nine obviously hadn't been around to witness this, but he was fairly glad he wasn't. On the other hand, he would've liked to see what the place was like when life still thrived.

And that wasn't to say life wasn't thriving now. It was just thriving at an incredibly slow pace.

"This was the place Five lost his eye." Two mumbled, sitting down and letting his legs dangle over the edge of a pothole. Nine flinched, but sat down anyway. Five hadn't told him much about the loss of his eye and hearing from Two felt somewhat like betrayal, but he continued to listen.

"It was those gas bombs. One of them had knocked Five off his feet and his eye had been ripped from it's socket during the chaos." Two explained. Nine winced. That didn't sound good no matter how you looked at it. He certainly didn't want to imagine it.

"If only I could've fashioned another optic for him...maybe then he'd feel a bit more whole." Two murmured, and Nine couldn't find the words to respond with. Was he blaming himself? He wanted to give the inventor a hug, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of Six shrieking.

"I found it! I found it!"

They looked up towards the sound of the artists voice. The sudden screams definitely took them off guard but it didn't sound like he was being attacked. They got to their feet and followed the sounds of the artist's excited yell.

Six suddenly sprinted over and promptly knocked into Nine, but he was in too much of a daze to care. "I found it." He kept repeating, "I actually found it!"

"Six, calm down a second. What did you find?"

"I found his eye!"

* * *

This was weird. The three were sat in a circle, back at the workshop, all looking down at the optic that lay on the floor. In any situation, looking at a disconnected eye would be weird, but the fact it was Five's optic, missing for a very long time now, made it that much more surreal to them. Two seemed to be in a state of shock by the turn of events, but Six was too excited to sit down properly. He kept fidgeting and twitching.

"What do we do with it?" Nine finally asked. Six actually looked annoyed by this. "We give it to him, obviously!" He stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It sounded like a good idea, but would it really make a good present? There was a fifty fifty chance of it working out in their favour, but the undeniable fact that it could backfire tremendously ate away at Nine's mind.

"It's broken beyond repair. I couldn't fix it no matter how much I wanted to." Two sighed softly, clearly torn up by this. "You don't need to fix it." Six told him, firmly. Nine wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the artist speak so much.

"His eyepatch is one of his significant features. It's differentiated him from other people, so it's one of the things that make him his own person." He said, quietly. "You were struggling to think of something sentimental or meaningful to give him, and it's hard, naturally, because he doesn't have a prominent personality. But the thing you were searching for was right in front of you the whole time. Since you've known him for so long, you wouldn't think about it, but if you were to take a look at him for the first time, you'd immediately notice his eyepatch and, by extension, his missing eye." He took a deep breath.

"Why wouldn't he be sentimental about that?"

The two stared blankly, mouths open, at the artist. Usually he found it near impossible to articulate or explain himself, but it appeared that he was capable of it once in a while. This explanation alone gave Nine a real insight into Six's personality. He was more observant than he let on, it seemed.

"You have a very good point." Two smiled.

It seemed a bit odd, nonetheless. The lack of his eye was what made him who he was, so to speak. If he still had his eye, he'd look just as generic as Nine. Maybe he wouldn't have started using ranged weapons and developed that skill. (Using melee weapons was somewhat impossible for Five due to his lack of depth perception.)

But the more Nine thought about it, the more it seemed to come together. Of course Five would feel sentimental about his eye, even if he said that missing an eye had it's advantages. It was so glaringly obvious, he completely overlooked it.

He smiled widely.

* * *

Five awoke to the faces of Nine, Two and Six around his bed. He wasn't sure whether to be immediately alarmed or not, but when the realisation that it was his birthday had sunk in, he smiled shyly.

"Do I need to ask?"

"Happy Birthday, Five." The three chimed, quietly, before Two handed him a small object wrapped in paper. Five took it and merely stared at it silently. "You didn't have to do this." He said, sitting up and hooking his legs over the edge of his bed. He carefully took apart the wrapping paper and he could've sworn, for a split second, his soul had left his body.

Having your own eye staring back at you was, without a doubt, the strangest feeling in the world.

"Where did you..." His words died before they even left his voicebox, as he covered his mouth with his hand. Nine, Two and Six collectively held their breaths, waiting for a verdict.

"You found it." He said simply. "You actually found it." He looked up. His single optic was full of more emotion than any two eyed creature could show. He looked as if he were about to burst into tears, but he smiled. He laughed. He was in utter shock, but he was laughing.

"You...How, I don't even know what to say. Thank you. Thank you so much." He said, trembling. His fingers clenched around the small flat cylinder. He felt like a piece of his soul had been restored. Even though it wasn't attached to his body, he felt whole again in a way he hadn't felt for a while.

Nine felt embarrassed that he didn't think of it sooner. He'd found himself thinking about the depths of Five's personality, in an effort to dig up some ideas, but maybe Five was just a simple person. He was shy, but he was trustworthy. He loved his family more than any earthly possession (even more than his eye) and Nine found himself respecting that.

Maybe they didn't have to find him such a special present; after all, it was a total fluke that they (Six) found it. He knew Five was the type of person to say 'I don't mind what you get me' but maybe he should've considered that. Five didn't want physical things like that. He wanted his family. He wanted to know they were thinking of him. Even if they gave him something equating to trash, he'd be grateful because they gave it to him. They were thinking of him.

As far as Five knew, they had gone out to find his eye specifically. They had gone out to reunite him with a part of his body; Nobody could tell him that it was a fluke. They could see the gift of his eye wasn't the real present. It was the sentiment behind it.

Five, Nine found, was both simple and complex at once and that made him more interesting than anybody he'd ever met.

* * *

I can't tell you how much fun I had writing this. Before I knew it, I was in too deep with Five's personality, damnit. All these sentiments. i also like the idea that once in a blue moon, words can just tumble out of six's mouth and form the most intelligent thing in the universe.

also, you guys who review this, i appreciate it more than you know. you are now my friends. deal with it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

also, request cause i'm bored as all hell.


	6. 27th of June

Six, despite being as oblivious as he is, was rather excited for his birthday. He didn't outwardly show it, but he found himself thinking about the upcoming date. He hadn't told anyone, but in his mind, he pictured playing a big group game with the others. It seemed kind of silly and part of him knew it would get shot down by One, but hey, it was nice to dream.

He wondered what the group would collectively give him for his birthday. After attending a few present hunting sessions for previous birthdays, he'd found the routine to become rather predictable.

They were going to get him art supplies.

Now 90% of that assumption was pure common sense; he was the artist, so why not art supplies? He didn't have a problem with it, it was nice that they took the time and all, not to mention he did need new art supplies, but it was all too predictable.

He wasn't as sentimental as Five, surprisingly enough. He could say 'it's the thought that counts' as much as he liked, but it didn't mean he meant it. Yeah, it was nice to be thought of at least one day of the year, especially when you'd been disregarded as mentally and emotionally unstable, but it didn't mean as much as he'd like.

Nonetheless, getting art supplies wasn't bad. It wasn't like they could gift him something amazing like Five's optic or find something special like the twins book. When you got down to it, they didn't know Six as much as he liked. That wasn't to say they weren't getting to know him now; Six was becoming included in more and more activities with the others and strengthening his bonds with the others, but something told him they didn't have the right impression of him.

It was obvious he was the 'crazy' one of the group and, although he couldn't deny he was eccentric, he hated it.

He wasn't crazy. He knew he wasn't crazy but if he ever said that aloud, it'd just be denial. Nobody would pay attention to that and he'd carry on being the crazy one, but he was tired of being the crazy one. He had problems getting his words out, he wasn't speaking in goddamn riddles. It wasn't that hard to understand. If they saw the things he saw, they wouldn't be so verbally gifted then.

What ticked him off even more, was the fact he was 'stereotypically crazy'.

He had dreams, not hallucinations. He didn't see fantastical things in his day to day life. He didn't hear voices in his head or feel things on his body. It was all contained in his dreams, but nobody seemed to understand that. Why didn't they understand that?

As for his dreams, he didn't even see that much. He just saw glimpses and snippets of what was to come. He didn't have much in the ways of common sense, he had to admit, which was why his dreams confused him further. Anybody else would've been able to put two and two together if they saw what he saw, and instantly understand, but he couldn't. What was the point of having an incredible 'gift' if he couldn't understand it?!

That's why he found himself becoming increasingly annoyed at the group. He didn't show it obviously, but the feeling was there. He wanted to say something but again, his lack of verbal skills prevented him from doing so. It felt like the group had completely misinterpreted his true personality.

* * *

He sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

He was lying flat on his back in his room, arms and legs out, with a mopey expression. He was excited for his birthday; he still was, but the fact that he still felt like a stranger to his family bugged him.

He was surprised when he heard the door open. He assumed it was Eight, but was even more surprised when the face of One came into view. He bolted upright and looked up at the oldest stitchpunk with alarm. One seemed to back away, an uneasy look plastered on his face.

"What?" Six asked, bluntly. One paused, before taking a seat on his bed.

"I'm well aware that you all like to go on great adventures in an attempt to find a suitable present, but it can't be much of a surprise for you. What do you want for your birthday?"

The question took Six off guard completely. He thought he'd done something wrong; usually when One was involved, it meant he'd caused trouble or disruption, but here he was, asking him what he wanted. Six tilted his head in confusion, and One huffed.

"Even an idiot would know we'd get you art tools as a present, but that seems too predictable. I'm a little sick of everybody sneaking around, trying to find something. I don't see why they couldn't just ask you outright." He said, flatly. Six almost smiled.

Six was initially afraid of One, especially toward the beginning. He was deemed crazy right off the bat and it was evident One didn't take kindly to strange, eccentric people. (Although it was hilariously ironic that he'd practically hooked up with Two, considering Two was the most eccentric person out there). One liked control of things and having somebody as strange and unpredictable as Six completely ruined the order of things. Six actually understood this, and had found him particularly less threatening (especially after Nine stood up to him).

What was even stranger is that Six could see similarities between himself and the leader. One was generally the 'stubborn old man' of the group, often causing conflicts between him and Seven, but after watching him from the confines of his corner, he began to piece things together.

He had a generally odd way of thinking, similar to Six. There were things he plain didn't understand. Now that was usually narrowed down to his old man personality, but in actuality, he genuinely didn't understand certain things, especially when it pertained to people.

The entire birthday thing was a prime example. He said it was silly and unnecessary, but only because he didn't want to admit that he didn't understand. Why would you celebrate the day a person was born? Why would you give them gifts? Why is there always a single day in the year that revolves around one person? No matter how much he pondered it, he just couldn't understand it.

A lot of things One called silly and unnecessary were generally things he had a hard time understanding, even with Two's explanations. He decided it was easier to shrug it off and go along with it, whether he understood or not. Six felt like he could relate with that, which made the leader significantly less scary.

He'd never admit it out loud, but he was sure One probably had strange thinking like him. He was a control freak, no doubt about it, but there were other things. He'd talk to himself a lot, he'd held strong attachments to inanimate objects and absolutely hated change. On the other hand, he also envied One. Mainly because he could speak his mind so freely and without verbal barriers, even if his opinions were generally unpopular.

Six thought deeply. He'd internally ranted about the situation, but he hadn't a clue what he really wanted. He shrugged, indifferently. One sighed, clearly agitated.

"At this rate, you won't be getting anything." He muttered, and Six found himself growing annoyed. He didn't need physical things. He was offended that One made a threat that implied him to be shallow. Well...maybe craving physical items wasn't 'shallow' as such, but it still felt that way to Six.

One was slightly taken aback by Six's sudden glare. He shuffled around and turned his back to the leader, "I don't care. Get me whatever you want." He muttered, hoping the leader would give up and go away.

"What's gotten into you? Did Eight steal something of yours again?" He asked. He, too, was becoming increasingly irritated, but Six couldn't care less. "You're acting strange." He commented, after receiving nothing but silence in response.

"I'm not acting strange." Six mumbled. "I've always been like this. You haven't noticed." He said. One rubbed his temples and sighed. "I'm not in the mood for riddles, Six." He began, tiredly, before Six cut him off.

"I'm not being all...I'm not. Ugh!" He was obviously failing to get his words out right and instead, smacked the floor in a bout of frustration. One jumped, slightly. This wasn't like him at all. Just what was wrong with him? Getting mad at him would upset Six even more and he couldn't be dealing with that. When One opened his mouth again, he tried a softer tone.

"Take your time." He said, simply, and Six froze.

Nobody had said that before. Back when he had to explain himself, he was always put under a time limit by either the dire situation or the lack of patience of his friends. But here was One, of all people, telling him to take his time talking, and all his thoughts rushed from his mind. Where was he supposed to begin.

"I'm not crazy." He began, frowning. One looked as if he were to roll his optics. Six looked up. "I'm not. I'm not saying it because I know I'm not. I'm saying it because I know I'm not."

One stared at him, quizzically, before closing his eyes. Six cringed; he'd messed up with his words again. How'd he mess up so spectacularly. Surprisingly enough, One had taken it upon himself to translate his words.

"So...you're not saying your crazy because you're in denial. You genuinely belie- know you aren't crazy." He cleared his throat and Six shrugged off his slight mistake. He nodded, slowly, after thinking through what the leader had just said. He was right.

"I don't see things." He said, plainly. One raised an eyebrow. "I thought you could see the future or something of the like." He said, sitting back. Six looked somewhat uneasy.

"I don't see things or hear things when I'm awake. I'm not special during the day. I see things in my dreams, but it's just small things. They confuse me, so when people want me to explain, I can't." He said, quietly. One seemed...intrigued, by this fact. "I always assumed you were some kind of schizophrenic." He said, and Six found himself respecting his brutal honesty.

"I'm not. I just see little bits of the future in my dreams." He said, with a smile. He didn't mess up. He said it right, but One still looked puzzled. "What was the reasoning behind your countless drawings of the...talisman?" He asked. Six shrugged.

"I only ever had the dream once, but I know it was really important. The old man I met told me about the source and I just couldn't remember what he said. I was trying to remember." He said, crossing his legs and rocking back and forth in a playful manner. One nodded in understanding. It made sense to him.

"I'm not crazy." Six said again. "I just can't talk good. I can't talk like you or Two. I know what I wanna say but I just...can't say it." He sounded sad now; his head dropped slightly. One stared at him.

"That...makes sense." He said, plainly. "I always thought you were just mentally insane, but I don't think I had any proof. It was just what everybody else thought. I suppose it must be frustrating for you." He said, with a ghost of a smile. Six nodded, enthusiastically.

"People don't know me as much as I want them to." Six said. He seemed significantly happier now, having gotten a good fraction of his thoughts off his chest. One shot him a look that indicated him to continue. This was...becoming easier.

"I'm not crazy. I think normally, like the rest of you. I just can't say it...but that means that there's stuff that I don't tell you. Like when you're being stupid." The words seemed to fly out of his mouth without a second thought, and One was finding this interesting. Given the chance to speak, Six would probably be the kind of person to say something outrageous, and One found that thought amusing. The way a person speaks can give another person a real insight into who they are.

"I have bad opinions of you guys too. I just don't voice them. If I said anything, you'd just think I was being crazy. You'd never take me seriously." He pouted, and One smirked. "Is that so? Why don't you test a few out? Tell me what you really think of me." He smiled. Six swallowed. He really didn't want to, especially not to One, but on the other hand, it'd be a chance to be able to say whatever he felt without any consequences. Hopefully.

Well, here goes nothing.

"You're a neurotypical, self-centered asshole."

One practically gaped, and Six almost laughed. He would've, but he knew was was going to be in big trouble for this.

He was shocked when One merely chuckled. "I'm sure you're not the only one who thinks that. You've got the courage to say it to my face, though." He said. Six shuffled, uncomfortably. "I don't...think that of you anymore though." One raised his eyebrows in interest.

"You're just a little odd, like me. You don't understand things. You don't understand how people work, like me! You just don't want to say it aloud. You don't want to look like an idiot for not getting something."

One was staring at him, his eyes narrowed. Six felt like calling him an asshole to his face was better than that mess that just erupted from his mouth. One merely shrugged. "This isn't about me." He said, "This is about you. Why not give me another opinion of somebody else."

How was he so good as switching topics fluidly?

"Um..." Six trailed, now feeling uneasy. "Just say the first thing that comes to your mind." One said, crossing his legs. "When you think of all of us, what do you think?" Six cleared his throat. Here goes...

"You're kind of an ass, but you're not exactly normal. Two is nice but he's weird and he probably doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. Three and Four are smart and shy but they can be really annoying and 'know-it-all'. Five is too sweet for his own good, but he hasn't got much of a backbone and he's really clingy. Seven always has to be right and yeah, she's strong, but she can't admit when she's wrong. Eight's an idiot, but he's more observant than people give him credit for and Nine's a total idiot who jumps into things without thinking."

Six let out a deep breath, and waited for a response.

One actually laughed aloud at this.

"I see you're not as nice as everybody thinks you are. I always wondered if you had some kind of dark side." Six smiled a little bit. "People think I'm a person I'm not. I don't like it but...I guess I can't stop it." His smiled dropped. "That's what I want for my birthday. I want people to see who I really am inside. Not some crazy weirdo who's sweet and endearing. Just...me."

"And you have that."

Six looked up, with confusion. One smiled down at him.

"I know who you are. Yes, it's not everybody, but it's a start. Besides, people are more perceptive than they let on. I think you'll find that they know you better than you think." He informed, and Six contemplated this. "You're...right. I guess. Um..." He looked up shyly.

"Thank you for listening to me."

"That's alright."

* * *

"Happy Birthday Six!"

Six beamed, shyly clenching onto his key. He looked down at the striped wrapping paper. It was a nice added touch.

"Open it Six!"

Six immediately tore off the shiny paper and smiled fondly.

Art supplies.

Two rested a hand on his shoulder, looking slightly sheepish. "I know it's not much. You probably knew what we were going to get you, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless." Six found himself grinning. "It's okay. I like it." He said.

"We weren't sure what to get you..." Five piped up. "We really couldn't think of anything, even when One went to ask you." One looked slightly disgruntled by the mention, and Six stifled laughter. "It's okay." He assured the one eyed stitchpunk. "But I wanna play a game later." He said, and Five nodded. "That's easy enough."

One sighed. "Don't include me. I'll just watch." He said, waving his hand dismissively. Two sighed and several groans could be heard.

"You're playing." Six told him, firmly. One looked up, a hint of a smirk on his face. "I really don't think I am. Perhaps I can...oversee the game or whatever." He said, but Six remained firm.

"Stop being stupid. You're playing with us. Otherwise, I'll paint on your face!" He threatened, brandishing a small pot of paint. He seemed to recoil after he said that, immediately regretting speaking his mind, but the others seemed to find it funny.. They gave a chorus of laughter and One seemed to pout, but deep down, he was smiling. Six looked around at the faces of his family and beamed.

* * *

I don't really like this, but I like the idea of Six not having the stereotypical crazy personality. I feel like it gives him more depth. The same could be said for One as well. As roundabout as this is, I like the concept Feel free to request!


	7. 18th of July

Similar to Five, Seven was also proving to be difficult in the aspect of birthday presents. She had such an interesting personality and made for an amazing character, but birthday presents were a mystery to Nine.

Initially, he considered something similar to her skull helmet. Perhaps finding a different part of a birds skeleton, but the chance of finding one around was slim to none. Nine sighed, sitting alone in the watchtower. The shimmering gold light of the approaching dusk shone down upon him, as he wrapped himself in thoughts. He knew full well he had a tendency to overthink things, not to mention he was useless when it came to the thoughts and feelings of other people. He was a little bit more socially stunted than people assumed. Just because he was the 'saviour' didn't mean he was entirely outgoing. Sure, he wasn't antisocial in the way that One or Six were; he merely had troubles in understanding how people felt.

This was one of those moments. Nine had hit it off well with Seven upon their first meeting (enough for Two to instantly comment on how they were each others love interests) but there were things that were a mystery even to him. Seven was a charming, brave warrior but she had a tendency to be secretive. She bottled things up and kept things hidden; something that Nine found rather annoying, but not everybody could wear their heart on their sleeve like him.

He began to worry. He, out of everybody, would be the one to give Seven a present. That's just how it was, but as time went on, he found himself coming up with nothing. Asking the twins was potentially helpful but he knew there were things even Seven didn't tell the twins. Not to mention the communication barrier was an incredible hindrance.

Who else would be able to help...? Two and Seven always had a friendly relationship, but it seemed more like a step further than pleasantries. They knew enough about each other to get along, but not enough to be close friends. The same could be said for Six and Eight, although Nine wondered if Seven and Eight had any other kind of relationships. Five knew Seven a little bit better than the others, but still not enough to warrant being close and the twins...was kind of self explanatory.

That's when the thought hit him. It sounded stupid (and he was famed for having stupid ideas) but it seemed to make sense.

"What are you doing up here?"

Nine cracked a small smile. Perfect timing. He swivelled around on his stool to face the older leader behind him. One was hunched over slightly, face twisted into a quizzical expression.

"I'm just thinking about a present for Seven. I just thought you might be able to help me." He said, with a small smile. One's confused expression increased upon his words. Nine had to admit, it was a rather ironic statement, considering their relationship.

"I knew you were an oblivious idiot, but I didn't think you were this stupid." One remarked, drily. Nine shrugged. He couldn't deny it; it was a rather stupid idea. "I know it sounds stupid, but I think you might be able to help me." He admitted. One looked intrigued, as he took a seat beside the youngest stitchpunk.

"And what gave you that idea?" He asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well...I know you fought a lot in the past, but you seem to know people well. I know you don't really think she's just a reckless person." Nine replied. One seemed satisfied with this answer, but his expression held something deeper.

"We aren't just enemies." He said, softly. "There was a time when we didn't immediately jump at each others throats." Nine looked up in surprise. Of course, it was to be expected; they weren't created hating each other. Nonetheless, it came as a surprise to Nine, who couldn't imagine the two being friends.

"Of course, as the war became more dangerous, we began to develop wildly different opinions, which inevitably led to an unpleasant relationship. But before that, we were..." He trailed for a moment. He looked as if he was struggling to find the words a say, but a strange sort of smile appeared on his face. He looked tired.

"It's...rather hard to describe." He said, looking down at his feet. "It'd be wrong to describe it as a romantic relationship." He mumbled, and Nine looked suddenly alarmed. A romantic relationship? Between them?

One could see the shock on Nine's face, and winced. "I said it wasn't a romantic relationship!" He said, sharply. Nine seemed to relax a little, but still looked uneasy.

One sighed. "It was more or less a fling, I suppose." Nine's eyebrows raised dramatically. "A...fling? What did you do then?" He asked, carefully. One seemed hesitant on imparting such information, but he spoke anyway.

"Nothing special. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it. It was all quite..." He stopped and shrugged. Nine couldn't blame him, it sure did sound confusing, but he was getting the general picture. He winced, slightly. "Then, did you two ever...y'know."

"Did we ever what?"

"Y'know...um..." He made a strange gesture that gave absolutely no clues to what he was trying to say. Nonetheless, One seemed to understand. He flushed slightly, rubbing at his knuckles. "I see. Well...yes."

Nine's optics widened dramatically and One inwardly flinched. Why was he surprised when he was the one that asked? He sighed, resting his chin on his hands. Nine still looked taken aback.

"You two...you two really did it?" His voice was now a whisper and One cringed. "How did it even get to that? I can't imagine why she'd..." He stopped, now realise how his words could be taken as an offence. "...why she'd want to do that with you." He finished, awkwardly. One seemed quite unfazed.

"Opinions aside, I suppose I would be her ideal type."

Nine gaped. He had to be kidding. One didn't flinch.

Thinking on it, it seemed to make sense. Seven was a strong kind of woman. She didn't hang around for people. She was fast-paced and energetic and those who couldn't keep up wouldn't have a chance. That much was clear.

Although, One seemed to possess a similar kind of strength. Rather than a flexible, fast-paced strength, he had an immovable, stubborn kind of strength. He wouldn't even attempt to keep up with Seven but he'd merely stand his ground where he was.

It wasn't too much of a surprise that a stubborn kind of strength was attractive to Seven. She didn't appreciate people obeying her every demand and tending to her every whim. She wanted somebody with a strong sense of self-respect. Somebody who would naturally put themselves before others. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that they'd never be needlessly selfless, while still helping others. A person who looked after themselves well.

One surprisingly fit most of those. He had an incredibly strong sense of self respect, with a bit of an ego, but hey that was to be expected. He had a habit of being selfish, that much was clear, but he knew how to take care of himself. His actions before his death had hit Seven surprisingly hard, though she'd never admit it. Part of her felt like she'd pushed him to do it, despite never outwardly saying such a thing.

Secretly, One wished it was her he'd jumped in front of, but beggars can't be choosers.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Seven may have been reckless, but she was brave and One respected that trait quite a bit (but only if she was being brave safely and without being reckless). It was apparent that One wasn't really all that involved in finding a partner, but it seemed to make sense that he'd look for a partner equally strong as him. Of course, he wouldn't mind having a submissive partner, unlike Seven.

Two happened to be a mix of those things. He was submissive and easygoing by nature, but he had quite the stubborn streak. He, too, was strong in his own way. He was capable of standing his ground when he wanted to, yet also capable of just going along with One's decisions. He wasn't physically strong but, surprisingly enough, was capable of making incredibly scathing remarks. He was the perfect mix of submissive and dominant.

Seven, however, was all dominant and never submissive. She wouldn't be tamed, or settle down. One didn't have much of a problem with that. Usually, as a leader, he was used to being obeyed with minimal questions, but she seemed to challenge him every step of the way, which was both a nasty and pleasant surprise.

One couldn't ignore the fact that Nine was staring at him, open-mouthed.

"You want to know how it happened?" Nine nodded. "Well...I can't recall the exact circumstances. I supposed it was merely banter at first. Then it probably escalated into ironic flirting or something to that degree. Then into actual flirting and then..." He stopped, leaving Nine to fill the blanks.

"I guess..." He said, lamely, "...I still can't picture it all unfolding though. I mean, you're both valuable parts of our group, but you're both a little awkward." He said, with a sheepish smile. One snorted. "The only one of our group who isn't socially stunted in the slightest, is Two. The word 'awkward' isn't in his vocabulary. It is literally impossible for somebody like him to feel embarrassment." He said, flatly. Nine stifled a laugh.

"I guess you're right. I suppose you have a way with words too, but not in a normal social setting. I mean, the image of you flirting is actually hilarious..." Nine covered his mouth with his hand, laughing quietly. One frowned.

"I'm not that bad. It wasn't as awkward as you think." He said, sitting back on his hands. Nine looked interested.

"Now you have to tell me. I'm curious."

"You remember all the chaos that unfolded the last time you were curious?"

"We all came out alive didn't we?"

One looked rather disgruntled. "I suppose so...All that happened was we talked. Besides, I think it was because she was curious about...well, you know. She was fairly young, after all this was before Eight was created. And she approached me." He added, rather indignantly. Nine laughed. It felt like one big dream, it was so surreal.

"I still can't imagine it. It's too...disgusting." He added, with a wince. One watched his expression, before giving a thin smile.

"That so? Then you probably wouldn't want me telling you about the time we did it over the balcony on the old watchtower." He said, casually. Nine coughed suddenly, almost retching and One stifled an uncharacteristic laugh. When Nine opened his mouth to retort, his held his hand up.

"We were talking about getting Seven a present." He said, smoothly.

He was right. They had drifted far, far from topic.

"Well...what would you suggest? I mean...you described her type pretty clearly, but that isn't much help." He said, plainly. One raised an eyebrow. "Well...I suppose a gift would have to reflect such traits."

"Something energetic? Um... I don't- wait..." He stopped suddenly. One looked curious, expectant for him to explain.

"When we were out to find the twins a present, we came across a machine..." One involuntarily flinched, "...and it was a small kind of robot. It was too small to do any real damage, and we let it escape. Maybe she'd like a kind of pet?" He suggested.

"You aren't seriously suggesting capturing that...thing, and giving it to her as a gift? She hates machines more than I do!" He hissed. Nine shrugged. There was a very good chance it would work in his favour. There was also a very good chance it wouldn't.

"You're coming with me."

"I'm what?"

* * *

It was now pitch black and One was less than happy about being out into the emptiness. The emptiness was now generally harmless, with the exception of a few roaming beasts, but they never caused much trouble anymore.

Nine was struggling to remember the way to the bookstore that Seven had introduced them to when they were hunting for books for the twins. One seemed to have been here before, as he was able to steer Nine in the right direction. Nine wondered briefly why One didn't complain about the dangers of the outside world, but Seven's birthday was tomorrow, so he didn't have room to make such complaints.

Nine twisted the bulb on his lightstaff, as they approached the shattered door to the bookstore. Nine peered in, tilting his lightstaff so he could illuminate a good portion of the room. There were no sounds of danger, so he assumed it was safe. One followed behind, not quite sure whether to follow closely for protection, or distance himself, so he could run.

"Where did you see it then?" The elder asked impatiently, rubbing at his arms. Nine gestured to the downwards stairs before them with his staff. "It was down those steps." He whispered, "Five tried to shoot it, but it got away. It was pretty small, so it can't have gone too far." He murmured, and with that, began descending the large wooden steps, being careful of any rickety and fragile planks. One opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out. He looked around fearfully, before reluctantly following him.

The two scoured the area carefully. Nine scampered to the darkest corners of the room, bounding over rocks with grace. One stayed in one spot, gingerly shifting rocks and pebbles around, being absolutely no help whatsoever. Luckily, Nine was able to cover a wide area very quickly and it wasn't long before...

"I found it!"

Nine hissed at One for him to come over. One, however, stood dead still, his optics searching the area. He wasn't going to risk it. When it became clear he wasn't moving, Nine rolled his optics and set his lightstaff against the wall.

The small beast was round, like a ball, with a few legs stuck to it. It was rummaging around aimlessly, not posing much of a threat to anybody. Nine knew such a tiny creature would probably be startled very easily, so he sat down where he was, and watched the creature for a while.

He tapped gently on the rock he sat on, and the creature slowly turned to his attention. The stitchpunk held his hands up, to show he had no weapons and meant no harm, as he sat as still as possible. The beast watched him like a hawk, making no moves of it's own.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Nine said, softly. It seemed as if the beast understood, but it still looked wary. It shifted in it's spot slightly, several red optics trained on Nine intently. Nine sat patiently, with a small smile. "I promise." He added.

He stretched out his hand towards the beast. The tiny creature recoiled slightly, but when it was apparent that Nine posed no threat, he gingerly approached him. It nudged his metal fingertips, as if testing the waters, before relaxing. Nine gave him a gentle pat. The beast sat in his lap for a few minutes, still looking quite wary.

"How would you like to come home with us?" He asked the creature. "There's somebody I wanted you to meet." He said the creature a bright smile, and the creature seemed to perk up. That gave Nine an idea.

He gently shifted the creature off his lap, and reached out to grab a pebble. The creature let out a startled beep, and reeled back. Nine held his hands up again, panicked. "No, no, I wasn't going to hurt you!" He insisted, before grabbing the pebble again. The beast watched the pebble intently. Nine held it up, watching the red optics following the rock in his hand. He smiled, before lobbing it gently in the other direction.

"Go get it." He urged, gently. The creature looked momentarily confused, before slowly making it's way to the pebble. It didn't look entirely sure of what it was doing, but it picked up the pebble, hoisted it onto the back of it's round body, and tottered back. He handed the pebble back to Nine, who smiled. "Good job." He praised, and the creature perked up again, when he gave him a congratulatory pat.

Suddenly, the creature froze up, giving a shrill squeak. "What is it?" Nine asked, softly, before seeing who had approached behind. One was standing behind him, looking slightly nervous about the creature. Apparently, it wasn't as big as he'd imagined, so he was slightly relieved.

"That's it then?" He asked, crouching down. Nine nodded, giving the creature a stroke. "This is it. This is One." He said, gesturing to the leader. "He won't hurt you either." He assured, and the creature relaxed every so slightly.

"So...we take it back to the sanctuary with us?" One asked, looking rather wary. Nine shrugged. "What else would we do? C'mon, let's head back." He stood up, picking the creature up, while One grabbed his lightstaff. The trio climbed carefully back up the stairs, and began to head home.

One sighed in relief, quickening his pace once they reached the library gates. He was glad to be back home. Despite not coming across any danger on this trip, he was still paranoid. He stopped suddenly, when he noticed Nine wasn't following him.

Nine looked rather nervous, as he clutched the creature. One looked back at him, quizzically. "What?"

"I'm worried everyone will scare him. What if she doesn't like him?" He asked, in a small voice. One sighed. "If you want, I'll go in an kiss her. That way, if she doesn't like your present, it'll be cancelled out by mine." He gave a thin smile and Nine snorted. "Thanks. Maybe...maybe you should do that." He said, with a sly smirk. One raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, as he entered the library. Nine looked down at the creature in his arms, who beeped brightly, before grinning.

"Welcome to your new home."

As the creature was very timid, Nine figured it was best if he introduced the beast to all the stitchpunks (sans Seven, of course) so he wouldn't be too startled. Luckily, the beast seemed to adapt very quickly, and the others did too. Six and the twins spent a short amount of time playing fetch with a pebble. The creature ended up racing Six to see who could reach the pebble first, much to the others amusement.

"It's becoming much more adjusted to the surroundings." Two commented, watch the game of fetch unfold. One nodded silently, which made Two glance at him unsurely.

"Are you alright?" He asked, quietly. One looked grave as he nodded once more. He knew he wouldn't get away with just that. He sighed, deeply.

"I ended up getting caught up in the past. I was talking to Nine about...my relationship with Seven." He voice was now barely above a whisper. Two didn't looked remotely surprised.

Of course, Two knew about it. It was blatantly obvious that One and Two were now lifelong partners, which meant Two knew things about One that nobody else knew, and vice versa. One was hesitant to inform Two about Seven, but Two didn't seem to mind. He understood full well that One tended to brood over the past, whether it was about their creator, or their old home. Being the kind soul he was, he never got mad at One. He was patient, and One was secretly appreciative of it.

Two knew One and Seven had an odd relationship, and One obviously still had mixed feelings about the past. He was a surprisingly clingy kind of person. He rarely made attachment, but when he did, they held strong. Back then, he had formed a slight attachment to Seven, which became strained over time. After many long fights, they broke apart and drifted far, far away, but those indestructible attachments still remained.

Seven knew full well about One's strange attachments. She knew he still felt some shred of...something, for her. Secretly, she didn't want to fight him. He wasn't as bad as she described him, but he was capable of some pretty awful things. She would never justify what he did in the past, but a sense of nostalgia prevented her from hating him.

One wondered why Two was never worried that he'd go off with Seven. Of course, it wouldn't happen, but that didn't stop him from wondering. He was surprised when Two informed him that he trusted him more than anybody.

One felt a whirlwind of guilt, for everything he'd ever done.

Two gently gripped One's hand.

* * *

Seven awoke to One sat at the end of her bed.

Her optics widened dramatically, but she made no movements. Why was he, of all people, sat at the end of her bed? She swallowed, thickly. One looked up.

"You're awake." He said, quietly. He looked unusually downcast, and Seven felt something tighten in her stomach. She sat up, looking him up and down, before noticing something strange in his lap. She opened her mouth to ask what it was, before the metal thing beeped suddenly. She flinched.

"Before you say anything...Happy Birthday." He muttered, as if he didn't want to be here. He lifted his arms, and the creature rolled off his lap and onto the bed. It scampered around, inspecting it's surroundings, before looking up at Seven. It beeped, cheerfully.

"That...why did you bring that here?" She asked, breathlessly. She didn't know what surprised her more; the fact he was wishing her happy birthday, or the fact he had just handed a beast to her. She watched it climb up the blanket towards her. She wanted to push it away, but it didn't seem to be doing any harm.

"It's not going to hurt you." He said, softly. Seven knew better than to trust One. She'd learnt from previous experiences, but for some strange reason, she trusted what he said. She gently outstretched her hand, and gave the small machine a pat. The creature responded positively to her touch and let out a chirp. She smiled.

"It's...cute. Wasn't this the machine that we found in the bookstore?" She asked, and One nodded. "Nine thought you might like a partner that could keep up with you."

The two watched the strange little machine roll around on Seven's bed with excitement. It wasn't remotely threatening and actually looked rather cute. But why was One giving it to her? One could sense that was the question running through her mind.

"I'm sorry..." He said, quietly. "...about everything that happened in the past. I know no amount of apologies could make it up to you but..." He paused, as if hesitating to speak further.

"What we were before we became...enemies." The word slid gingerly around his tongue. Seven felt something freeze inside her. She hummed, to show she was paying attention.

"I...enjoyed it. A lot. More than you might think I did. I...have no intention of leaving Two, but I just...wanted you to know. You're more than just a reckless brat to me." He gave a melancholy smile, and Seven found her mouth falling open.

It was easy to see these kinds of things were hard for One to say. He wasn't the apologetic type or generally the emotional type, but he had more emotion that people gave him credit for. Seven knew that, but every time he showed shred of raw emotion, she found herself being surprised.

Nonetheless, she smiled sadly. Deep down, she hadn't wanted it to end the way it did. Part of her was craving to go back to that time just one last time, but it wasn't possible. He had Two now and, as happy for him as she was, she still felt a little empty. A little betrayed. Why? She thought she hated him. He was just...he was capable of being such a terrible person! So why did she miss him now? She couldn't take him back, because of the past, but it seemed to tear her up inside.

She felt strangely uncomfortable. She stifled a sigh, looking downcast. Suddenly, she felt a tender hand on her shoulder, as One leaned over.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before standing up.

"Happy Birthday, Seven."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

this accidentally turned into 7x1 whoops.

also, to Angel, you are a lovely reviewer and I am delighted you like my works. reviews and messages mean the world to me. My witch story is going very well thank you very much. I might post it online.


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